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On the day that Gordon Brown tried to justify to the Chilcot
Inquiry his role in the illegal Iraq war - which is widely
condemned as a war crime - Lance Corporal Joe Glenton has
been sent to jail for his refusal to fight the war in
Afghanistan which he believes is unjustified and a senseless
loss of life for Afghans and British soldiers alike.
Joe Glenton was sentenced today to nine months imprisonment.
This extremely harsh sentence ignored many of the facts of the
case; that Joe had post-traumatic stress disorder, that he had
raised concerns about the war with his superiors and been
bullied as a result, and that he had voluntarily returned to
barracks after going absent without leave.
The judge herself made it clear the sentence was not based on
the facts of the case but on a desire to deter other members
of the military from taking a stand of conscience.
Joe is a brave and defiant man. He left the court under guard
with a clenched fist held high. His outspoken defiance and the
national campaign to defend him had already forced the
authorities to drop the much more serious charge of desertion.
Stop the War will now widen the campaign to defend Joe Glenton
until he is free.
Joe Genton's mother Sue Glenton says:
"I am extremely angry. The court barely paid lip service to
justice. The judge clearly didn't listen to the arguments or
if she did she ignored them. The lawyers are considering an
appeal. The Ministry of Defence will be hearing a lot more
from me.">/em>
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